Coderre v. Futrell, 224 N.C. App. 454

NALA (NC corp) bought 200 acres in Montgomery Co for $7M; paid $1M upfront and signed a $6M promissory note secured by a deed of trust.
60 acres could be released from the deed of trust if NALA paid $2M by Aug 25, 2006; failure led to modification extending to Aug 25, 2007; payment still not made.
February 2008, NALA sought $2M financing from Cambridge Holdings Group; April 1, 2008 attempted tender of $2M, but foreclosure proceedings were directed due to default.
Foreclosure sale held July 2, 2008; defendants successfully bid; no upset bids.
Prior to recording the foreclosure deed, the parties entered the 30-day agreement allowing postponement if NALA cured arrears within 30 days; NALA filed Chapter 11 on Aug 12, 2008.
Bankruptcy court allowed NALA to assume the 30-day agreement; case eventually converted to Chapter 7 on Feb 5, 2009; Feb 11, 2011 Coderre filed initial complaint; NALA discharged from bankruptcy June 2011; December 2011 motion to dismiss for lack of standing and statute of limitations; trial court dismissed with prejudice; plaintiffs appealed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Coderre had standing to file the initial complaint and whether the amended complaint related back.	Coderre had standing as a representative plaintiff.	Coderre lacked a stake; he wasn’t a party to the agreement and had no independent interest.	Coderre lacked standing; initial complaint was a nullity; amended cannot relate back.
Whether 11 U.S.C. § 108(a) tolls the statute of limitations for NALA's breach of contract claim against third parties.	§108 tolls the limitations period while debtor in bankruptcy.	§108(a) applies to actions by the trustee/debtor; tolling does not extend the limitation for claims by the debtor against non-debtors.	§108(a) tolling does not save the claim; the amended complaint was filed after expiration of the statute of limitations.

Stanback v. Stanback, 297 N.C. 181, 254 S.E.2d 611 (N.C. 1979) (standard for Rule 12(b)(6) de novo review in sufficiency challenges)
Leary v. N.C. Forest Prods., Inc., 157 N.C. App. 396, 580 S.E.2d 1 (N.C. App. 2003) (de novo review governs Rule 12(b)(6) dismissals on appeal)
Woodring v. Swieter, 180 N.C. App. 362, 637 S.E.2d 269 (N.C. App. 2006) (standing required to invoke court jurisdiction)
Burgess v. Gibbs, 262 N.C. 462, 137 S.E.2d 806 (N.C. 1964) (courts lack jurisdiction where subject matter jurisdiction is lacking)
Long v. Fink, 80 N.C. App. 482, 342 S.E.2d 557 (N.C. App. 1986) (statute of limitations can support Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal where barred on face of complaint)
Person Earth Movers, Inc. v. Buckland, 136 N.C. App. 658, 525 S.E.2d 239 (N.C. App. 2000) (§ 108(c) tolling applies to claims against the debtor; not to claims by the debtor)